Localization Essentials

Making Products Work for Users Worldwide

About This Course

So, what is localization? In the world of information technology, localization means translating and adapting a product or service to a particular language, culture, and geographic market.
There are two main aspects to localization. The first one is stylistic: You have to make sure the language tone you use is appropriate for each local culture. There’s also a technical aspect: You may have to make changes to things like date and time formats, alphabetization, or even the direction of reading, to make them appropriate for the language you’re localizing into. So localization means more than just translating a message or text, it’s about making a whole product feel tailored to users everywhere.
This need for localized content has made the language industry the 4th fastest growing industry in the world with a global size of an estimated $40 billion. More people across the globe are coming online, and they need to be able to use technology in a language they understand. That’s what localization is all about.

Why Take This?

For translation students and freelance translators, it’s a great opportunity to get specialized knowledge and skills in a still lesser-known field that is becoming increasingly important. This course will enrich your resume, open up new business opportunities and it will allow you to change or expand your field of specialization.
Developers will learn about localization basics and gain an understanding of how to launch applications and products in international markets. This course will also shed light on the potential challenges and issues you might run into, while providing known solutions, and which stakeholders need to be involved in a product launch to make it internationally successful.
Entrepreneurs and business owners will understand why localization is important for the international expansion and success of their companies, also learning which professionals their companies need to rely on, which technologies to use and how to organize localization processes to launch successful products globally.

Prerequisites and Requirements

Students should have basic computer skills: managing files, navigating the internet and running programs and applications. During the course, students will be asked to perform operations on a computer, so you should have access to a computer that is able to run a Chrome browser. Students will also have the opportunity to try and use a CAT Tool, GTT, freely available with a Google account.

Localization is about making a product feel tailored to users around the world. Specifically, it is the process of adapting a product to a language, culture and market.